Orange and blue sunset over the Fox River in downtown Neenah, seen from the Commercial Street bridge, with the sky reflected in the water

Photographs by Jamie Dolan

The Fox Cities

Lake Winnebago, the Fox River, and the parks along the way. All of it close to home in Neenah, Wisconsin.

The Fox River from the Commercial Street bridge, downtown Neenah, May 2022

Follow the water

Lake Winnebago empties into the Fox River at Neenah and Menasha, and the river runs north from there to Green Bay.

Almost every place I like to take pictures sits somewhere along that water. So this page starts out on the lake and follows the river downstream, with a few side trips into the woods and the prairies along the way.

Lake Winnebago
Neenah
Menasha
Appleton
Kimberly
Little Chute
Kaukauna
Green Bay

The lime kiln ruins at High Cliff State Park: a tall white stone stack and crumbling stone kiln walls under a deep blue sky

01 / 05

High Cliff State Park · east shore of Lake Winnebago

Up on the escarpment

High Cliff sits on the Niagara Escarpment, on the far side of Lake Winnebago from Neenah. Down by the water on the Lime Kiln Trail you walk right past the old kiln ruins, and they're worth a minute even when you've seen them a dozen times.

A Quiet Afternoon on the Lime Kiln Trail at High Cliff

Sailboats moored in the Neenah harbor at sunrise, seen from Riverside Park

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Riverside Park · Neenah

Sunrise in the harbor

Sailboats on their moorings at sunrise, looking out over the harbor from Riverside Park. Sailing runs deep in Neenah, and the Neenah-Nodaway Yacht Club's roots go back to 1864. You only catch it this calm if you're up early.

Neenah Sailboats at Sunrise — Around 2014

The Kimberly Point lighthouse in Neenah at sunrise, with golden clouds lit up behind the white tower

03 / 05

Kimberly Point Park · Neenah

Where the lake becomes a river

The little lighthouse stands at the tip of Kimberly Point, right where Lake Winnebago empties into the Fox River. It's one of the most photographed spots in town, and on this August morning in 2020 the clouds lit up behind it.

The Neenah Lighthouse at Kimberly Point — August 2, 2020

Two spotted white-tailed deer fawns grazing in tall grass at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve in Menasha

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Heckrodt Wetland Reserve · Menasha

Still in their spots

Heckrodt is a wetland reserve on the Menasha side, with boardwalks running through the woods and the marsh. On a warm July evening these two fawns were out grazing in the tall grass.

A Warm Friday at High Cliff, Fawns at Heckrodt, and a Sunset on the Trestle Trail

A calm, glassy pool of the Fox River reflecting trees and blue sky at the 1000 Islands Environmental Center in Kaukauna

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1000 Islands Environmental Center · Kaukauna

Low water on the Fox

Downstream, past the old locks at Heesakker Park in Little Chute, the river spreads out over shelves of rock at the 1000 Islands Environmental Center. On a still August afternoon the pools were as flat as glass.

Two Fox River Parks: Heesakker Park and the 1000 Islands Environmental Center

High Cliff
The harbor
Kimberly Point
Heckrodt
Kaukauna

Side trips

Into the woods, and out to the prairie

The river's the backbone, but a lot of my favorite walks are a few minutes off of it. Wetland boardwalks, little prairies, an orchard, and a city park with real woods hiding in the middle of it.

A wooden boardwalk winding through green summer woods at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve

A Canada goose standing in the shallow Fox River with its reflection below it

A white-marked tussock moth caterpillar on a leaf, with a red head, four white tufts and long black hair pencils

Bright orange chicken of the woods mushroom growing in ruffled fans at the base of a mossy log

The prairie at Conservancy Park full of black-eyed Susans, purple blazing star and goldenrod

Red and yellow apples ripening on a branch against a blue sky at Sharky's Orchard

A white-tailed doe standing beside a wooded trail at Wilderness Park in Neenah, looking toward the camera

A black-eyed Susan with golden petals and a dark center blooming in the prairie at Bubolz Nature Preserve

All year

Four seasons, give or take

Wisconsin gives you all four, sometimes in the same week.

A trillium blossom fading from white to pink on the forest floor at High Cliff State Park

Spring Trilliums on the trails at High Cliff, May 2016

Sailboats racing on Lake Winnebago off Neenah, their sails backlit against a bright evening sky

Summer Racing on Lake Winnebago off Neenah, June 2014

Looking straight up into a tree canopy turning red, orange and gold against a blue October sky in Neenah

Fall Looking straight up into the color, Neenah, October 2025

The Neenah Public Library at blue hour, its curved glass wall glowing with warm light above snow and ice

Winter The Neenah Public Library at blue hour, March 2015

Swipe for the rest of the year

After dark

The Fourth of July over the harbor

Pink and gold fireworks bursting over the Neenah harbor on the Fourth of July, with a sailboat silhouetted in the foreground

Fireworks over the Neenah harbor from Riverside Park. The show is part of CommunityFest, the Fourth of July celebration Neenah and Menasha put on together every year.

Fourth of July Fireworks Over the Neenah Harbor

A fiery orange sunset over the water in Neenah, with the sky and the waves both lit up

A large golden fireworks burst over the Neenah harbor, with moored sailboats in silhouette and gold reflections on the water

Play

Games and tools from around here

A red sun setting behind a mill and smokestack across the water, seen from the Trestle Trail

Game

Where in the Fox Cities?

My photo guessing game. You get one of my pictures and guess where around the Fox Valley I took it. This sunset from the Trestle Trail is one of the rounds.

Game